For the past seven years Yakama Nation fisheries staff has been working on developing a plan to put fish screens on unscreened private irrigations ditches in the Simcoe Creek Watershed.  Simcoe creek has endangered Steelhead that spawns and rears in its watershed.  Currently, there are 3 unscreened diversions located in the Simcoe Creek called Smartlowit, South Fork Feeder and Hubbard diversions.  These diversions have the flow to cause outmigrating Steelhead to get stranded on farmland. 

In 2007 Yakama Reservation Watershed Project (YRWP) staff started to work with a private irrigator on accepting the concept of screening his irrigation ditch, which is called the Smartlowit diversion.  The first attempt was to try an infiltration gallery on his property.  The infiltration gallery didn’t work due to hitting bedrock. 

After the failure of the infiltration gallery YRWP staff looked at two fish screens for the Smartlowit diversion one a farmers fish screen and a 4 CFS Rotary Wiper W/Guard


Figure 1. Farmers Fish Screen


Figure 2. 4 CFS Rotary Wiper W/ Guard    

After meeting with Engineers, Yakama Nation DNR programs and Landowner it was decided to install the 4 CFS Rotary Wiper W/ Guard fish screen.  The reason this alternative was chosen was because of the flow and debris load.

Figure 3. Spring of 2010 Smartlowit Unscreened irrigation diversion off of Simcoe Creek

Figure 4. Winter of 2010 4 CFS Rotary Wiper W/ Guard fish  Screen installed

The 4 CFS Rotary fish screen will be ready to operate in the spring of 2011.  Also, YRWP are looking at alternatives for the other two unscreened diversions on Simcoe Creek and have these installed by Winter of 2011. 

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